Shinedown - Leave a Whisper

Released July 13, 2003

Shinedown was:

Brent Smith - vocals
Jasin Todd - guitars, lap steel, theremin
Brad Stewart - bass
Barry Kerch - drums, percussion

Tracks 13-15 are available on the Enhanced Edition (released June 15th, 2004), and 16-25 are available, with 1-15, only on the iTunes/Amazon Deluxe Edition (released July 7, 2009). As of yet, I have not experienced 16-25, and when I do, I will add them to this post. --9/8/09

1. Fly From the Inside
2. Left Out
3. Lost in the Crowd
4. No More Love
5. Better Version
6. Burning Bright
7. In Memory
8. All I Ever Wanted
9. Stranger Inside
10. Lacerated
11. Crying Out
12. 45
13. Simple Man (acoustic) (from the Sanford Sessions)
14. Burning Bright (Sanford Mix) (from the Sanford Sessions)
15. 45 (Acoustic) (from the Sanford Sessions)
16. Simple Man (Rock Version)
17. Leave A Whisper (Leave A Whisper Sessions)
18. Start Over (Leave A Whisper Sessions)
19. Soon Forgotten (Demo)
20. No More Love (Demo)
21. Falling Fearless (Demo)
22. Left Out (Demo)
23. Emptiness Man (Demo)
24. Notice Me (Demo)
25. Fly From The Inside (Live Acoustic)

45
This was, way, way back in 2005, my first exposure to a southern band named Shinedown. I suppose that it's probably the best song from this album to experience first, as it begins slowly, calmly, and mellow, and builds up to the energy that I, at least, typically associate with Shinedown songs. The only sad part about this song is that Brent Smith's vocals never reach the peak of range that they do in this song.

Rating: 10/10

45 (Acoustic) (from the Sanford Sessions)
While acoustic versions of songs tend to be worth the listen, this just seems like a watered-down version of the original. Brent's vocals are usually pristine, but it seems like on this one, he could have done well by clearing his throat a few times. That, and during the bridge, it seems like he's straining a bit too hard to sound the same as he did in the non-acoustic version.

Rating: 6/10

All I Ever Wanted
Not a bad generic rock song, but definitely not Shinedown's best. It seems to me as though this is more of a typical "cookie cutter" song than it is an original masterpiece. I admit it's very powerful, emotionally, but other than that, there's really not much to it.

Rating: 7/10

Better Version
Sometimes it seems that Shinedown's been recording versions of this song since they began recording songs. But that's all right. This is more of a hard rock standard than most of the songs on the album, but at the same time, manages to sound a bit whiny at times. Still one of the better songs I've heard.

Rating: 8/10

Burning Bright
This is another song that made Shinedown one of my favorite bands. I particularly like the lyrical juxtapositon, and to tell the truth, the almost warbling sound of the main guitar riff is eerie, and that just adds to the...well, to the mystique. And the end...well, it lends a certain feeling to the song that I just cannot describe.

Rating: 10/10

Burning Bright (Sanford Mix) (from the Sanford Sessions)
Really, my comments for the original version still apply, and the music adds more of the eerie feeling to the song. Were it possible to give more than ten points to this song, I would. Actually...

Rating: 11/10

Crying Out
This song...well, there really isn't much I can say about it without sounding like I'm gushing. It's catchy, it's heavy, it's got the benefit of Brent's A-game vocals, and it catches you off your guard if you haven't listened to it before.

Rating: 10/10

Fly From the Inside
An excellent song to begin an album with. Lyrics are typical Shinedown confusion mixed with some excellent imagery, and of course Brent's on his game. Another great song from a very good band.

Rating: 9/10

In Memory
In 2005, I had something happen to my psyche right around the same time as I first picked up Leave a Whisper. This song immediately grafted to me, and as such, I'm almost unable to give it a horrible rating. Of course, it doesn't deserve it. It's an excellent emotional song about emotional progress, featuring most (but not all) of what makes Shinedown an excellent group.

Rating: 8/10

Lacerated
An atypical song from these boys. It starts out very, very slow and creepy, and doesn't really shift in tone the way it does in speed. Same Shinedown lyrical riddles, same Shinedown heavy guitars, but this would be right at home in a horror movie. If you manage to sift through the words, it becomes fairly clear that it appears to be about emotional abuse, but then again, that could just be my interpretation of the lyrics.

Rating: 8/10

Left Out
I like how Shinedown starts a few of their songs with slow parts, being followed by heavy guitars, but I suppose I can't see why they'd do it more than once per album, or three times total. It does tend to get overdone. On top of that, this song just isn't "great". It's well done, but it's definitely not their best work.

Rating: 6/10

Lost in the Crowd
A ballad. Goes from simple soft-sounding guitar to heavy guitar, and really doesn't change much in tone. I'd say more about it, but I really don't have much to say about it at all. It's not the best song on the album, but it's likely not the worst, either. But it's just not what I think of when I think of Shinedown.

Rating: 6/10

No More Love
Not a bad hard rock song, but there's really nothing special about it. It's heavy, and it sounds good, but it's not very memorable. In its own way, that makes it a good song, but it's not special.

Rating: 8/10

Simple Man (acoustic) (from the Sanford Sessions)
One of the best covers I've ever heard. Brent's vocals are absolutely perfect for this song. Nothing else need be said.

Rating: 10/10

Stranger Inside
One of the better songs on the album. It's hard to say "best" when an album has so many good songs on it, though. It's catchy, and should have been a single. Definitely one of the hardest songs the album has to offer, and I don't think I've heard many songs that are so much hit, so little miss like this one is.

Rating: 9/10

Final rating:

Original Edition: 99/120 (82.5%) (B-)
Enhanced Edition: 126/150 (84%) (B)
iTunes/Amazon Deluxe Edition: unknown/250 (n/a%) (n/a)

Machinae Supremacy - Redeemer

Note: You may notice that I mention several times a problem I have with the Retail Edition's sound. I'm open to suggestions on how to improve said problem.

Underground Edition
Retail Edition

Underground Edition

Released on March 18, 2006.

1. Elite
2. Rise
3. Fury
4. Ronin
5. Kaori Stomp
6. Hate
7. I Know the Reaper
8. Seventeen
9/10. The Cavern of Lost Time/Rogue World Asylum
11. Through the Looking Glass
12. Oki Kuma's Adventure
13. Reanimator
14/15. Prelude to Empire/Empire

Retail Edition

Remixed and re-released on November 8, 2006.

1. Elite
2. Through the Looking Glass
3. Rogue World Asylum
4. Rise
5. I Know the Reaper
6. Hate
7. Ghost (Beneath the Surface)
8. Seventeen
9. Ronin
10. Oki Kuma's Adventure
11. Reanimator


Elite
All in all, a fairly good opening song on both albums. The Underground version is prefaced with a simple speaking track, the Retail version is not. Past that, the two songs are identical, though I will say that I've had problems with the Retail Edition songs being muddied slightly, and as such, I prefer the Underground version.

Retail: 6/10
Underground: 7/10

Empire
Nearly seven minutes of epic guitar, choral chanting, and headbanging fury. If you can make it all the way through this song and still not enjoy this band, then you may as well not try to listen to anything else they have. This showcases every single ounce of awesome that this band has to showcase. SID chip, technical skill, et cetera. I love it, and at some point will revisit it to showcase more of the song.

Underground: 10/10

Fury
An Underground-only song. Excellent, excellent opening guitar line. I can't say that enough. Really, I can't. Unfortunately, the song doesn't hold that particular line, and after the first chorus, it tends to get a bit repetitive. Overall, not a bad song. It holds to the middle of the pack, and it's good for when you just need to headbang a little bit.

Underground: 6/10

Ghost (Beneath the Surface)
When I first pieced together my knowledge of Redeemer, I was saddened that the Retail Edition didn't have Empire on it. With the general muddying of the sound (which I have mentioned elsewhere), it seemed to me that this edition would be utterly useless without the best song on the album to go with it. Then I found Ghost. I am so utterly thrilled with this song that there really isn't much to say about it. I can't do it justice without thinking for several days. So I'll have to go back and do a Song of the Month special about this song.

Retail: 10/10

Hate
Another one I just can't really get behind. It's not that it's terrible, but it's just not the blend of technical skill and lyrical poetry that Machinae Supremacy shows in songs like Ronin and Ghost.

Retail: 4/10
Underground: 5/10

I Know the Reaper
A very catchy tune, I must say. Robert's almost whiny vocals are the only major detriment to a song that mixes all the best that Machinae Supremacy has to offer: smashing and flowing guitar lines, hints of almost 8-bit sound at the edges of your senses, and lyrics that make you really sit down and think.

Retail: 7/10
Underground: 8/10

Kaori Stomp
I can't say that I've listened to this song much. I just can't get behind it. It seems to go from senseless heavy guitar riff to senseless heavy guitar riff, and honestly, hearing a Swedish man speak Japanese in the middle of an English verse isn't really my type of music. I just have trouble getting behind this song.

Underground: 4/10

Oki Kuma's Adventure
How many songs can really reference "Firefly" and get away with it? Seriously? And I would very seriously like to know who the female backing vocalist is. In all seriousness, though, this song is very close to absolute perfection in every way. The only thing that costs the Retail version half a point is the muddying of the sound that happened throughout the whole album. I'll likely give this song its own post somewhere down the line.

Retail: 9/10
Underground: 10/10

Prelude to Empire
90 seconds of prelude. Nothing much to speak of here, except for the two second clip of "Insidious" from Deus Ex Machinae caught my attention. I really do enjoy the way it leads up to Empire, though.

Underground: n/a

Reanimator
Who doesn't love a song about zombies? Seriously? It didn't help me much that the first time I listened to this was when I was reading through Blackest Night #1. Man, that gets creepy. Machinae Supremacy seems to have some sort of fixation on zombies, one that I can understand, but this is only one of two songs on the Retail Edition that reference undeath, and considering that this is subtitled "(March of the Dead III)", I wonder a bit. That said, this is a great song to mellow out to, for exactly two minutes and eighteen seconds (on the Underground version). After that, it will surprise you and blow your eardrums out if you're not careful. Overall, a very good song. Emphasis more on the SID chip than on the guitar, and a section in the middle with a woman speaking Japanese make this a less than usual song by any band, and that alone is worth remembering.

Retail: 8/10
Underground: 9/10

Rise
One of my favorites, on either version of the album. It's really not often that I find a song that's both musically beautiful and also lyrically well-written. I can't interpret any song for anyone else besides be, but I like to think that there will be a second subculture uprising, after listening to this song.

Retail: 7/10
Underground: 8/10

Rogue World Asylum
Another of my favorites. From the very beginning, it's smashing and headbanging hard rock, until the vocals kick in, and then the story begins. If you follow the lyrics, it's really quite beautiful, the story. Again the SID chip blends with rather than overpowering the guitar and vocals, and makes for a beautiful contrast.

Retail: 8/10
Underground: 9/10

Ronin
Another song that is nothing short of sheer epic. My advice: if you can, turn the volume on your music playing system as loud as you can stand it, then begin the song. If you can still think clearly, then you are a better man (or woman) than I. Perhaps it drags on a bit, and is slightly repetitive, and there is always the issue of Robert's vocals. The SID chip is used particularly well in this song, as support and integration rather than the primary focus.

Retail: 8/10
Underground: 9/10

Seventeen
"These people are plenty smart. Yes sir, a lot of them actually went to college." is the speaking track that begins the Underground version of Seventeen. Overall, though, the song has little to do with the enigmatic phrase chosen to begin it. It appears to be a political track, and really doesn't quite live up to the typical standard.

Retail: 6/10
Underground: 7/10

The Cavern of Lost Time
Thirty seconds of instrumental as a plausible prelude to Rogue World Asylum. Nothing to see here, move along.

Underground: n/a

Through the Looking Glass
I would really love to see this performed live. The sound of a piano playing a beautiful melody contrasts so well with the guitar lines, and Robert's vocals manage to sound almost adult in this song. I was really impressed with this the first time I heard it all the way through, and I'm still impressed now.

Retail: 8/10
Underground: 9/10

Overall score:

Retail: 81/110 (73.6%) (C)
Underground: 101/130 (77.7%) (C+)